Cathy Killick is a veteran reporter on BBC Look North (Yorkshire). Tears leaked from my eyes when I first heard this heartfelt item on the programme and they leaked again later that night when it was reshown on the late, condensed version of the show. It concerns the deaths of both of her parents through COVID-19:-
18 February 2021
34 comments:
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Last night, we lay down on sunbeds and watched Mrs Moon rise like a tangerine over The Aegean Sea. To capture the beauty of the scene fa... -
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So there I was standing in the kitchen of our son's terraced house. Something caught my eye outside in his little urban garden. It was a...
After watching this, I ask again, is it really that difficult to wear a mask while you're out? Really?
ReplyDeleteHow many of those who invaded the US Capitol were wearing masks? It's beyond belief that such people should view refusal to wear masks as a declaration of their civil liberties.
DeleteFree-dumb, YP, Free-dumb.
DeleteHeartfelt words. So sad. Grief is awful.
ReplyDeleteDid you tear up too Dave?
DeleteI can't watch this. I feel sad enough these days without adding to it. So many people are dealing with loss due to Covid and it's just terrible. Terrible.
ReplyDeleteIt allowed some of my pent up tears to flow. In that sense it was cathartic.
DeleteIt was very moving YP. The film Shadowlands often brings me to tears. I have only watched it 22 times so far.
ReplyDeleteMister Softee isn't just an ice cream!
DeleteHeartbreaking. Thank you for sharing--we cannot ignore the suffering.
ReplyDeleteIn a response to a comment, you mention those maskless rioters at the Capitol insurrection...they did indeed spread the virus. I personally know police officers who contracted Covid from that incident. 38 Capitol Hill police, nearly 200 National Guard and untold number of other police from jurisdictions around DC who responded were infected--endangering not only themselves, but their families, too. There are no words to adequately express my disgust at those who give no thought or care to others and that includes the right wing media which continues to spread lies about the issue. However, there are no limits to the praise for people in health care, such as the young NHS carers mentioned in the clip, who have unstintingly dedicated themselves to caring for all whose suffering is unbearable, at the cost, all too often, of their own well-being.
Thank you for this response Mary. I had no idea about the infection stats connected with the assault upon The Capitol. Behind every number there is a story. Trump should have been modelling the wearing of masks from the beginning. Could he be impeached for not doing that? Some crimes are hard to pin down but that does not make them less real.
DeleteThanks for letting us watch Cathy Killick's tribute to her parents. A reporter must have detachment like a suit of armour, but it breaks down when you watch your parents die of covid-19.
ReplyDeleteThere is an important article in The New Scientist (13 February) headlined *How to give your vaccine a boost*.
In order for the covid-19 vaccine to work effectively, it is important to remain calm before and after the jab, to get to bed at a reasonable time, and to get some fresh air from walking or jogging or upper body work-out or housework.
*Alongside stress and sleep,* writes New Scientist reporter Helen Thomson, *you may want to try to mitigate the effects of isolation. Even in young, healthy people, feelings of loneliness have been associated with a lower antibody response to flu vaccination.*
People who are married or who have good social support, have a higher antibody response to hepatitis B and flu vaccination. Those going through bereavement have a lowered response.
The same factors are likely to prevail with the covid-19 vaccination.
Stay calm and cheerful, get some basic exercise, get plenty of shut-eye, and keep in touch with friends and family.
Music, reading, gardening, blogging, taking care of pets, keeping in touch by Zoom and telephone ... these are more important now than ever.
I never would have thought that. Those things are important to keep us going and mentally healthy but it had not occurred to be that those good habits might boost the effectiveness of the vaccine. Thanks for sharing this John.
DeleteJust...sorrow.
ReplyDeleteSo much sorrow.
For me this video item was like a release valve.
DeleteYou made me cry this morning. That was lovely and heartbreaking. There will be a lot of young nurses with PTSD when this thing is over. Young nurses working emergency and the ICU units, older nurses too. I know at my work we don't have patients dying of covid but we're all at the end of our ropes and struggling, I can't imagine how the other nurses are coping.
ReplyDeleteAnd that doesn't even take into account all the families grieving loved ones they've lost. Thank you.
So glad that this video item struck a special note for you Lily.
DeleteAlthough I could not hear her voice, I watched this with the subtitles switched on and, yes, I did tear up. Who could not?
ReplyDeleteHow clever that you could turn subtitles on. I would not know how to do that. For me this video summed up the sorrow and the tragedy of COVID-19.
DeleteDon't tell my Mum, but I am currently working on a book for her as a birthday present. It is a little fairy tale featuring her and the beautiful garden my parents kept for so many years but had to give up in 2019. Even while working out the story in my head, tears keep welling up - so much is lost forever, and that is with both of my parents still around. I know they won't be here for countless more years (and neither will I), but I get very sad and nostalgic of those times when they were in their prime. They are still my heroes and always will be, but sometimes I just want them back as they used to be. Sh*t, now I'm crying, and I have not even watched the video.
ReplyDeleteLetting out sorrow is a good thing. I believe that this makes us stronger. You and your sister have been very lucky to have such lovely parents and the fact you cherish them now will surely mean that when they finally go you will not be filled with regrets. Remember to ask them all the questions you have and to label family photos.
DeleteI had seen an extract from that and I have to say that when you multiply that by the number of deaths it brings it home to you how much sorrow there is.
ReplyDeleteAn ocean of sorrow.
DeleteThank you for sharing that clip YP. Cathy's beautiful tribute to her parents is a heartbreaking reminder that every person who has died from Covid has had a life story that deserved a better ending within the loving bonds of their families.
ReplyDeleteIt's also a wonderful tribute to your NHS and makes you wonder who is caring for the carers? How do they keep going under so much constant stress?
How could anyone watch this and not weep with her for the world?
We have had such a different year from the rest of the world with Covid mostly kept at bay through strict border control and rapid lockdowns when an outbreak has occurred such as this week in Auckland. Life has been relatively "normal" and it's human nature to ease off precautions when the threat is not so omnipresent but it's hard to understand the selfishness of people who refuse to wear a mask when the virus is raging all around them.
Cathy sharing her very personal experience is a timely reminder of our good fortune and the need to follow the basic requests of hygiene, distancing, masks and tracking to keep our communities safe and protect our health workers.
The first vaccines have now arrived in NZ and the first in line are border staff and families. If the Media are to be believed it seems the Govt still has some work to do to convince everyone to have it....!!!
I'm glad you've had your first dose, I'll be lining up when it's my turn.
Adele
Thanks for another thoughtful comment Adele. How wonderful it will be if New Zealand can get the mass of the population vaccinated without ever feeling the horrible full effects of COVID-19.
DeleteThere are over 100,000 stories like that in the UK alone. So many people with scars which will last a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteI bet that your daughter has had to tap into a good number of similar stories.
DeleteShe has indeed, YP. Those stories have taken their toll on her too.
DeleteVery moving indeed and makes it such a personalised experience. She made a good point about the NHS, it being made up of people.
ReplyDeleteI agree. That was a very good point.
DeleteSo sad to see how heartbroken she is, I am sure many people will be in that situation. The effects of this virus will be seen for a very long time to come.
ReplyDeleteNot many news items have revealed the true human cost of the pandemic as this one does. It's not just about numbers.
DeleteI'm crying because she cared so much... really cared about her parents. And I love that the Librarian refers to her parents as 'heroes'! How fortunate those parents were to know they were truly loved and dearly missed.. there are many who are on their own without much of a thought from their family.
ReplyDeleteI'd just like a 'real' phone call.. not one that 'ticks' the box for another chore done on or not on a weekend but sadly that is just a hope not a reality and Covid has really made me so aware of that lack of 'caring'.
Lilycedar makes a good point about the aftermath of all this horror for the frontliners... the helplessness experienced while working so hard through Covid will be an awful burden
Feel so much for folk that have lost their loved ones during this disaster.. I fear this sadness will pervade our lives for a long, long time.
Thanks for sharing YP.. it certainly touches your soul.
And thank you Elle for such an honest, reflective response. Maybe when it is all over the entire world should hold hands and sing that old Coca Cola anthem - "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony..."
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